Before millions of children of the '80s knew Bob Geldof as the Irishman behind a wave of international charitable rock, including Band Aid and Live Aid, he made a name for his home country as a hub for rock with the punky band, The Boomtown Rats. More than 25 years after their last performance, The Boomtown Rats are reforming for a new album and tour - and they're starting things off with a new compilation in September.Led by the irascible, verbose Geldof, The Boomtown Rats - which featured
INTERVIEW: Excavating Jem with Marty Scott
The list of American cities tied to record labels is small, but certainly notable. Memphis has Stax and Sun, Detroit is defined by Motown, Sub Pop defined the Seattle sound...and then there's Jem Records, which made its home in the middle-class borough of South Plainfield, New Jersey. Jem, as well as its sub-labels like Passport (a joint venture with Seymour Stein of Sire Records) and PVC, became something of a cratedigger's dream in the 1970s and 1980s, licensing content from all over the
I Just Freeze: Repertoire Plans Remix Compilation for Icehouse
UPDATE (7/30/2013): There are now two Icehouse remix sets scheduled from Repertoire. The second, out August 26, features more remixes from the singles covered on the first volume and selections from 1994's Full Circle remix project. Both sets are now after the jump. ORIGINAL POST (5/28/2013): Having done remix compilations for the likes of Sparks and Giorgio Moroder in recent months, German label Repertoire turns their attention down under, to the dance mixes of Australian group Icehouse. Led
Don't Be a Drag, Participate: Rhino U.K. Represses CHIC Hits on Vinyl
If the summer didn't have enough Nile Rodgers for you, what with a hand in the summer's biggest jam and a new double-disc compilation, there's more good news on the way. Rhino's U.K. division will release a selection of CHIC sides on vinyl in a new box set at the end of the month. The 12" Singles Collection is somewhat of a misnomer, as only one of these five records was really a 12" single (and it was a reissue at that, pairing the band's first singles "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah,
Release Round-Up: Week of July 30
Nilsson, The RCA Albums Collection (RCA/Legacy) Easily one of the box set purchases of the year. Every one of the legendary singer/songwriter's 14 solo albums for the RCA label, newly remastered and expanded with bonus tracks, mono mixes and other treasures, plus another three discs of rarities and outtakes. The packaging is beautiful and the music more than matches. You will not be disappointed. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Dionne Warwick, The Complete Warner Bros. Singles / We Need to Go Back
Mountain Goats' "West Texas" Gets an Expansion
Merge Records last week reissued a pivotal album by lo-fi folk outfit the Mountain Goats with a bevy of bonus tracks. The group's 2002 effort, All Hail West Texas, remains one of the group's most treasured recordings. the Mountain Goats, initially the nom de folk of singer/songwriter/guitarist John Darnielle but now a fluid ensemble built around him, have existed since the early 1990s, in the form of largely low-fidelity, quickly-assembled, urgent records. All Hail West Texas, released on the
The Show Must Go On: Queen Plan "Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert" Blu-Ray, Vault Tracks with Michael Jackson
Queen and Eagle Rock Entertainment will release a newly-expanded edition of their unforgettable Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert this fall, on DVD and, for the first time, Blu-Ray Disc. Five months after the tragic passing of one of rock's greatest frontmen from complications due to AIDS, surviving Queen members Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor gathered dozens of famous collaborators and famous fans at London's Wembley Arena on April 20, 1992. Some 72,000 people were in attendance, and
Special Weekend Reissue Theory: Madonna, "Madonna: 30th Anniversary Edition"
Welcome to another installment of Reissue Theory, where we reflect on notable records and the reissues they could someday see. It's been three decades since one of the most popular and influential performers of the last 50 years released her first full-length album, and a new deluxe edition is long overdue. Here's a look back at the first album by Madonna. If you'll pardon the anachronism, it wouldn't have been unforgivable to look at Gary Heery's photograph for the cover of Madonna's first
Ho Hey! Folk Upstarts The Lumineers to Expand and Reissue Debut LP
One of the most inescapable songs of last year was immediately identified by two words: "Ho Hey." The best-selling single by Denver-based folk band The Lumineers gradually earned a steady stream of airplay after some choice ad placement and a performance on Saturday Night Live, ultimately sending the tune to No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100. Next month, The Lumineers' self-titled debut is being reissued and expanded as a CD/DVD set, with five extra tracks, music videos and featurettes from the
The Cult Support "Peace" with New Reissue of "Electric"
Here's a recent treat for fans of British rockers The Cult: the band recently reissued their breakthrough album, 1987's Electric, pairing it with a little-heard early version of the album. The Cult burst onto the scene in England with debut LP Love and the Top 20 hit "She Sells Sanctuary" two years prior. When it came time for the follow-up, the band reconvened with Love producer Steve Brown at Oxfordshire's Manor Studios for a new LP, Peace, in 1986. But the band was dissatisfied with what
Best Laid "Van"s: Do Artists' Opinions on Their Catalogue Titles Influence Your Purchases?
Not long after Joe had posted about Rhino's upcoming expansion of Van Morrison's Moondance, I vocalized my pleasant surprise at the news. Morrison's history with reissues has been spotty at best; a late-2000s reissue campaign was quickly halted and almost instantly commanded top dollar on the secondary market. The next day, however, Morrison issued a statement denouncing the project, taking particular issue with the wording of the press release suggesting he was involved. "It is important that
Release Round-Up: Week of July 23
Otis Redding, The Complete Stax/Volt Singles (Shout! Factory) A triple-disc set featuring every one of Otis' single sides in mono - a striking statement on a short but iconic soul career. (Amazon U.S.) Smashing Pumpkins, The Aeroplane Flies High: Deluxe Edition (Virgin/UMe) The Pumpkins' 1996 box set of Mellon Collie-era singles is massively expanded, with bonus tracks on each of the five original discs and an unreleased live CD and DVD. CD box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. LP box: Amazon U.S.
All of Us Under Its Spell: Disney Reissues "Muppet Movie" Soundtrack to Coincide with Blu-Ray Release
It begins so simply, as all immortal songs do: a hopeful melody, plucked on a banjo by the versatile flippers of a frog. "Why are there so many songs about rainbows / And what's on the other side?" sings Kermit the Frog, in one of the unmistakable voices of his creator Jim Henson. If Henson and Sam Pottle's theme to The Muppet Show is the national anthem of those long-running, lovable fur and felt characters, "The Rainbow Connection" is its "God Bless America." Kermit's ode to "the lovers, the
Yes! Prog Legends Honored with SACD Box Set in Japan
Deep-pocketed Yes fans will want to steel their bank accounts for this one: a brand-new box set, to be released this fall in Japan, newly mastering the prog heroes' Atlantic/ATCO albums on hybrid SACD. High Vibration looks to be a typically lavish import, featuring 16 discs of Yes material from 1969 to 1987. The set will feature all of the band's studio albums from that time period (plus 1973's live Yessongs), all in replica paper-sleeve packaging, plus a bonus disc of non-LP cuts, nearly all
No. 1 with a Bullet: Boston Hardcore Band Anthologized with New Digital Compilation
The world of rock and roll is littered with captivating tales of what-ifs and alternate routes that pushed a musician in one direction instead of another. One such captivating story of late is that of Jason Everman, a seemingly unassuming Army Ranger today who at one point was a member of the Seattle grunge scene, playing in both Nirvana and Soundgarden before both rocketed to success in 1991. What's particularly interesting about that New York Times piece on Everman, other than its subject, is
Waxing on Universal's New Vinyl Project Initiative
Only in 2013 - a year where vinyl is expected to sell 5.5 million units this year, the largest number since the early '90s - would Universal Music Group's new "Vinyl Project" score so much digital ink. The premise is simple: UMG now wants to take crowd-funded opinions into what titles get pressed anew and stocked through online retailers and local record stores. The goal, according to the new site, is to utilize the label's "extensive catalogue to offer sought-after deleted recorded to be
Release Round-Up Special: James Taylor, CSN, "Blade Runner" Released by Audio Fidelity
In lieu of a standard Release Round-Up this week, here's a look at the major three titles that are out today: the latest gold discs and SACDs from Audio Fidelity. The titles released today are Crosby, Stills & Nash's CSN, James Taylor's Gorilla and Vangelis' soundtrack album to Blade Runner. The third studio album by the folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash, released in 1977, is crucially different from the ones before - this time, there's no contribution from Neil Young. (Young
Mike Oldfield Remaster Campaign Continues with "Crises," "Five Miles Out"
Universal's Mike Oldfield expanded remaster campaign begins with reissues of two of his more pop-friendly records: 1982's Five Miles Out and 1983's Crises, both of which will come packed with extras in September. While both albums featured their share of ambitious and complex pieces like "Taurus II" and Crises' title track, there was an increasing presence of keyboards on both albums, notably the Fairlight CMI and Oberheim OBX synthesizers. On Five Miles Out, Oldfield made rare vocal
Another Expanded "Star Trek" Score Immortalized on CD
Engage! Another film score from the Star Trek universe has been expanded on CD; this time, it's the score to 1998's Star Trek: Insurrection. The third Trek film to feature the crew of the USS Enterprise-D as featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation (although this film, like its predecessor First Contact, finds the crew manning the Enterprise-E), First Contact finds Picard, Riker and crew openly rebelling against a Starfleet plot: to help one alien race, the Son'a, steal a planet away from the
"You Came," You Saw, You Conquered: Universal U.K. Gets "Close" to Kim Wilde Classic for Its 25th Anniversary
Universal's U.K. arm will expand Kim Wilde's Close (1988) for its 25th anniversary with a two-disc set full of rare and unreleased remixes on September 2. Wilde's sixth album was her biggest success to date, a U.K. Top 10 album with four huge hits to its name in "Hey Mister Heartache" and Top 10 singles "You Came," "Never Trust a Stranger" and "Four Letter Word." (The record was a Top 20 album in the U.S., though only "You Came" charted Stateside, landing at No. 41.) Close remains one of
Lookin' for a Love: Bobby Womack's Singles Compiled on New 2CD Set
Often unfairly slighted in the pantheon of great soul musicians in the 1970s, a new U.K. compilation gives Bobby Womack his due, anthologizing every one of his single sides from the first nine years of his solo career. Womack and his brothers, Friendly, Curtis, Harry and Cecil, started from the small clubs of Cleveland before being discovered by Sam Cooke, who signed them to his SAR label. The classic "Lookin' for a Love," which he produced, earned them a spot on James Brown's tour; a
So...Peter Gabriel to Release "Live in Athens" on Blu-Ray
Peter Gabriel's So box set, released last year, was the subject of much controversy. Many fans wondered why Gabriel's team would offer "DNA" tracks of the songs from the album coming together instead of the many B-sides and remixes that have yet to be anthologized on CD. They bemoaned the lack of 5.1 surround mixes and questioned the decision to not release the accompanying Live in Athens concert - remixed and re-edited from live footage recorded for the P.O.V. documentary - on Blu-Ray, but DVD
Release Round-Up: Week of July 9
Merry Clayton, The Best of Merry Clayton (Ode/Legacy) Tell all the people: the singer who gave The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" its soulful grit recorded several LPs for Lou Adler's Ode label. In honor of her belated star turn in the new documentary Twenty Feet from Stardom, Legacy has released the first-ever compilation of selections from these works, including many impressive covers of the likes of The Doors, James Taylor and Neil Young. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Brainstorm, Journey
Ring Ring! ABBA's Debut Album Gets the CD/DVD Treatment This Fall
It's been four decades since Agnetha Fälksog, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad came together to change the face of pop music. This fall, the first album by the group the world now knows as ABBA is getting an expanded CD/DVD treatment - and those who are interested as to how the quartet came together will have a lot of bonus tracks to discover and enjoy. When the single "People Need Love" was released in 1972, it was intended as a one-off collaboration between three
Move It On Over: Rounder to Reissue First Two Albums by George Thorogood and The Destroyers
Even before "Bad to the Bone" solidified his place in the pop culture canon, George Thorogood was a journeyman rocker with a distinctive voice and a knack for good old-fashioned blues. This month, fans will have a chance to rediscover the earliest part of his career, when Rounder Records remasters and reissues the first two albums by George Thorogood and The Destroyers. When the Destroyers' self-titled album was released by Rounder in 1977, Thorogood was a Delaware-born guitarist making a name
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